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Getting Blind With Crafty: Mid-Strengths

November 12th, 2018, by Crafty Pint

Getting Blind With Crafty: Mid-Strengths

November 12th, 2018, by Crafty Pint

A few weeks ago, we published The Golden Age Of Mids? and asked whether we're entering a golden era for mid-strength beers in Australia. There are more available than ever before and brewers are managing to find ways to pack them full of character too.

As a follow up, we decided to dust down our Getting Blind With Crafty series and put some of them to the test. With so many available in can and bottle, it wasn't possible to include all local examples – we ended up with more than 50 in the long list we put up for the initial public vote and that was excluding anything fruited, sour or funky. So, we whittled that initial number down to a manageable selection as per our last few tastings:

A public vote from which the top ten was selected;

Inclusion of any beers that had picked up golds or trophies at the most recent Australian International Beer Awards and Craft Beer Awards;

A balancing of numbers to reflect the number of beers from each state in the original long list;

Three lucky dip picks.

We then set about sourcing them, picking up as many as possible from retail in order to reflect the experience of our readers, while making sure we grabbed the freshest from the fridges where there were multiple batches. Where this wasn't possible, we had those that made the list sent to us by brewers direct; where they came from and their packaged on/best before dates are included below.

The judging followed the usual methods – outlined here. Given mid-strength isn't a style like, say, American pale ales, the lineup included some variation. A few beers were tagged session IPAs so the panel – a mix of beer writers, brewery owners, brewers and sales reps – was notified when any beers in the flights were designed to be something other than a straightforward lower ABV ale.

The Outcome

Before we get to the leaderboard, a couple of observations. Perhaps the most encouraging was that, at times, it was easy to forget we were assessing beers typically 3.5 percent ABV or under. Many exhibited pretty distinct hop characteristics; in a couple of cases, it almost seemed as if there was too much going on.

Aside from that, there weren't too many you might characterise as "donuts" – with nothing in the middle due to the need to keep the booze content low – and a few with pretty complex profiles across the board.

As for the results across the panel, while there was the odd disagreement there was more consensus – five of the six at the table had at least three of the top four beers in their individual top five. So, what were those top beers...?

The Top Ten

We ended up with a ladder that included at least one beer from each state, representatives from both independent and major brewing companies, and a mix of old and new too. The beer that topped the pile, Piss-Weak Sauce, even had one panelist announce mid-tasting: "This has restored my faith in mid-strengths!"

As for Rogers', it stood out due to its appearance but no one at the table could deny its layered malty appeal or subtle fruity aroma, while the other beer of a darker hue in the lineup, Little Bling, really does do a remarkable job of packing heaps of malt and hop character into its 3.5 percent ABV.

Captain Sensible's appearance in the upper echelons demonstrates how head brewer Scotty Hargrave and his team know their way around delivering enjoyment in small packages. And the Small Ale from Colonial – a pioneer in the field – held up well despite being among the older samples we'd picked up (not that this was of any comfort to the Colonial head brewer when we bumped into him later in the night who wished we'd ended up with something fresher!).

Moorebeer's Hoppy Mid almost didn't make the tasting after it ended up at a courier's depot; thankfully, we were able to collect it just in time – look out for a story on the brewery on the site soon – while 4 Pines' most recent addition to their core range, the Pacific Ale, and Moo Brew's "Tassie Mango" rounded out the ten.

1. Sauce Brewing Piss-Weak Sauce, 3.5% – from the brewery; packaged on 30/08/18; best before 30/08/19

Thanks to the crew at The Terminus for letting us use their upstairs room for the tasting, to the panelists for giving up a Friday evening and Pete "Prof Pilsner" Mitcham for overseeing the stewarding.

After a couple of lager-centric panels to kick off what are now monthly Blind Tasting Panels, the third showdown saw a sharp shift in direction into the beer style that is probably closest to the hearts…
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For our first blind tasting of 2018, we lined up a pretty eclectic selection of beers that form part of the beer world's current fondness for sour styles. And the year got off to a fine start with a winning beer from a brewpub few readers will yet have visited.
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For our next blind tasting, we're going to return to pale ales for the first time since 2013. With so many available, we're splitting the tasting into two sessions – New World and American pales – and want your help compiling the lineup.
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The Crafty Pint is an independent online magazine and resource for anyone interested in craft beer in Australia. We bring an honest, old-fashioned journalistic approach to beer's brave new world, telling stories because they're worth telling not because someone is paying us to write them.

Like many of the people who have changed the face of beer in Australia, we believe in authenticity, integrity, enjoyment and love. We hope to play a role in helping good beer, brewed by good people, find its way into the hands of more drinkers.